Frozen Fire
by Calle Ann Rhodes
Summary: The new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher from the USA has realized she's taking up too much space in the universe and decides to get back in shape. Her method of getting back into shape becomes her nighttime ritual, her escape, and her secret.
1. Default Chapter

**

Chapter 1

**

Professor Choloe Kelly stood in her quarters in front of the mirror, and stripped off her teaching robes and frowned. What happened to her once svelte body? She had been a size 8 for years and years...and now? 

She had used the excuse of approaching 40 but then she saw other women who were well into their 40s who were svelte. She sighed. Too much sitting, and too much eating and drinking. Her teaching robes concealed her heft to some degree, but not enough. 

Diet and exercise. She'd get good about one and bad about the other, then switch. She never could seem to get things synchronized, and a size 16 was a result. The only kind of exercise she liked to do, she was hesitant about. A knock on her door interrupted her train of thought, and she instinctively covered herself. 

"Who is it?" she called. 

"Professor Snape." 

She sighed with annoyance. "Just a minute," she said, quickly putting her robe back on. "What the hell does that moody old git want..." she murmured, then thought better of it; he wasn't but a year or two older than she. She opened the door and looked up at him. He was dressed all in black, scowling, as usual, his black stringy hair almost touching his shoulders. 

"I am told that you have an extra copy of the textbook you are using in your class -- I'm very interested in reading it and can't seem to find it anywhere. May I borrow it?" 

"Oh, of course. Do come in," she said. She had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for a little over 2 months, fresh from the USA. It was a culture shock for her but it was a fascinating place. The difference between the way Witchcraft and Wizardry was taught in the US and Europe wasn't that great, but the people were way different, much more formal and reserved. She liked the faculty here, but Snape annoyed her. She had tried to joke around with him on more than one occasion but had always been met with a scowl, so she had given up, and just did her best to be civil. She took the extra copy of the textbook and handed it to him. 

"Thank you. I'll return it when I am finished. Do you know where I might find a copy to purchase?" 

"I could look into it for you; I'll send an owl to the publishers." 

"Surely you must realize I've already done that," he said in a condescending tone. Chloe made a face at him, her wide-set green eyes blazing. 

"Keep that copy as long as you want. It's an extra," she said. "Good evening," she dismissed him, eager to get he and his attitude the hell out of her room. He bade her a good evening and left. 

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost 10 PM. What could she do to get herself back in shape? She walked to her window and could see the lake from there. Did she dare try it again? It had been a few years since she had put on her skates, and she had brought them. She got her skating bag out of the closet and put them on. Oh how they hurt. No, this would have to wait, she decided, unlacing them. It would keep. 

The next morning at breakfast, she decided to eat differently. She skipped the breakfast meats and heavy breads and took fruit and cottage cheese instead, then went to teach a full day of classes. 

That evening, she was looking out at the shimmering lake again, shimmering under the full moon. "There's no time like the present," she told her fat reclection, and pulled on a pair of sweats over kneepads, a t shirt, and a sweat shirt over that. None of her skating attire would fit, and she wasn't going to try; it would just frustrate her more. She grabbed her wand and opened her door, making sure no one was in the hall to see her, holding her skates in her hand. She made a mental note to put them in a bag the next time, and perhaps stash them in her classroom. The students were all in bed, so she quickly went down the stairs and made her way to the lake which was quite a hike. 

A twenty minute walk had her breathing pretty heavily by the time she arrived at the side of the lake. She raised her wand. "Acquas frigitas!" she said, and the lake instantly froze. "Glace-lisse!" she said and the ice was immediately smoothed to a glasslike finish, perfect for skating. The best Zamboni driver in the world couldn't have done a better ice cut. 

She sat down on a log and put on her skates, and fitted the rubber guards over them, and walked, wobbily, to the edge of the ice, and leaned against a tree to remove the guard of her left skate, then stepped out onto the ice, and removed the other. She put them down on the ground and began stroking the ice with her blades. Oh her feet were killing her. She did a large circuit and then stopped and sat at the edge. Her feet were cramped up like knots, and she was huffing and puffing. "How did I get SO out of shape?" she asked no one in particular. She rested, then got up again and began gaining momentum. It was as if her body knew what to do, but it was just not used to doing it anymore. She did an edge change and began skating backwards, the wind blowing her hair into her eyes. She pushed it back, making a mental note to bring clips the next time, and then set up a spin. Only when she stepped onto her spinning leg, her leg did not want to hold her up, and it buckled beneat her. She was glad she had worn the knee pads. 

Chloe had always skated as a kid. She had never not been able to spin, so this was very distressing. She got up and instead of a whole wind up into a spin, she stepped into one from a standstill. This went a little bit better, except it was wobbly and she couldn't cross her foot in front the way she used to. She had always been a fantastic spinner so she cursed herself, then decided to try a jump. Just a simple waltz jump. No fanfare, no setup. She stepped onto her left foot and jumped in the air, with a half turn, and slam-landed on both feet instead of one. "I suck!" she said to herself. She tried it again and this time landed on her right foot, but it was not a good controlled landing, and she hardly popped up at all. Her timing was sadly, way off. 

Next she tried a salchow. That went well. She set it up from a back outside edge, stepped forward onto a forward outside edge, did a 3 turn and UP! She felt like she could have doubled it if she had wanted to, but it had been an awfully long time since she had done a double salchow. 

Finally, she decided she had had enough and didn't want to overdo it. She Went to the edge, took her skates off, and undid her freezing spell so no one would be the wiser, then hiked back to Hogwarts and to her classroom, where she stashed her skates, then stole quietly upstairs. No one saw her. This would be her little secret! 


	2. Chapter 2 rewrite

**Chapter 2**

_Author's Note:_   
I didn't like the way this was going so, I have redone it and am redoing it. Not enough time, mystery, intrigue, etc. So, here goes the new version..... 

Chloe was sore. She dragged herself to the Great Hall for breakfast after a hot shower. Minerva McDonagall asked what was wrong, as she was moving so stiffly. 

"I started exercising again. Oh pain..." she said. 

"Perhaps I have something that can help with that." Chloe turned to see that Snape was standing behind them. "Like what? A massage?" Chloe challenged. He gave her an icy look. 

"No...I was thinking along the lines of a potion. Come with me after breakfast. I'm sure I have something that could help." 

"Oh it's okay...I don't want to take up your time..." she began, "I'll live!" Then she groaned as she sat down in her chair, and looked at him again. "Okay, I'll come see you." He took his seat a few chairs down from her, and the breakfast was served. Again, Chloe selected cottage cheese and fruit and some pumpkin juice. 

"You're really eating a healthy meal there," Minerva commented. 

"Yes, I need to get in shape again. I have a shape; it's round!" 

After breakfast, she followed Snape to his dungeon. She hadn't been in there before, it made her think of a chemistry lab. He silently opened up a cabinet which contained several labeled bottles. She noticed every label faced perfectly out of the cabinet and it was in alphabetical order. A neat freak? Doesn't explain his hair...she thought to herself. He found what he was looking for and handed her a small bottle. 

"Try that. Just drink it down." 

She took the stopper out and sniffed it. It smelled like cherry cough medicine, and she made a face, then drank it down quickly. 

"YUCK! Tastes like Triaminic..." she began. 

"It tastes like what?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"It's this horrid cold medicine I used to have to take when I was a kid. I used to have colds and allergies all the time," she said, handing him the empty bottle. To her amazement, she started to feel better. 

"Hey that stuff works! Thank you." 

"You're welcome," he told her, in his usual icy tone. Just then, some students began filtering in, so she said good bye and went to her classroom. By the time she got there, she felt like she hadn't exercised at all; the soreness and stiffness was completely gone. Maybe he's not so bad, she decided. But she had been killing him with kindness. Whenever someone gave her the cold shoulder, that's what she did. At least that way she knew it was nothing she did to earn bad treatment. 

That night, she went back to the lake again. Her feet immediately cramped up on her and she wondered if Snape might have a potion for that problem. The next day at breakfast, she was once again stiff and sore, but not as bad. 

"I see you've been exercising again. I'll make you a bottle that you can keep," Snape remarked as she walked in stiffly. 

"That would be wonderful. Do you have anything for foot cramps?" 

"Foot cramps?" 

"Yeah, when I first put my sk--running shoes on, my feet cramp up," she said, almost saying skates. 

"I can figure something out for you, I'm sure." 

"I don't want to trouble you--" 

"Miss Kelly, it is no trouble. I enjoy the challenge of creating new potions, unlike my students," he said. It was strange to hear him be nice but the tone of his voice was icy as usual. 

"Okay thank you." 

"Just come to the dungeon after breakfast again and I'll get you the potion to make the lactic acid in your muscles dissipate." 

"Is that what it does?" 

He nodded and took his place at the table, as did she. She remembered riding her bicycle to relieve soreness--but 80 miles of brisk riding couldn't come close to the relief she felt after drinking the potion. Afterwards, he gave her two of the bottles of potion and said something about brewing a larger quantity for her. She thanked him and turned to leave. 

"Miss Kelly--" 

Chloe turned. 

"I'll let you know about the foot cramping potion when I have completed it." 

"Thank you." 

I guess he really isn't so bad, she decided. He was positively evil to most of his students, and civil to the staff, but he was a strange bird, in her opinion. "Still waters run deep..." she muttered to herself. 

Her classes went well that day and she was teaching the second years about boggarts. That was always fun. That night, she was suiting up in her sweats and had her skates laid out when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she said, and the door opened. Snape stood there with two stoppered bottles. She quickly threw her sweatshirt over her skates which were on the bed. 

"Good evening. Take this for your feet, and this tomorrow morning for the stiffness, just this much," he said, pulling an eyedropper out of the large bottle, on which there was a line. 

"Great. So I take the foot stuff just before I go exercise?" 

Snape nodded and then glanced over at the bed where Chloe had thrown her sweat shirt, and wondered what was under it. Whatever it was, she clearly didn't want him to know. Probably her knickers or some other feminine undergarment, he decided, and bade her a good evening. 

Chloe waited until she was sure he was gone and then took the potion for her feet, grabbed her skates, and left for the lake. The anti-cramping potion worked wonders, and she was able to effortlessly glide across the ice without any pain. She set up a spin and was able to hold it this time. It wasn't particularly fast, but it was centered. She confirmed this afterwards by the print in the ice. Her jumps felt better too; her timing was coming back. 

# # #

It didn't take Chloe long to drop 20 lbs--by mid October, she had done so. She was getting back into shape very well and didn't need the potions anymore to keep away foot cramps or get rid of the soreness. No one had discovered her secret, and she went out almost every night. She had done an illumination spell on moonless nights so she could have proper lighting, and sheltering spells if it was raining or snowing. She needed it to be her private place; fearing if she told anyone, she would have a 'crowded rink' to deal with. This was her special time and place where she could be alone. 

Her students were doing well and she was getting more and more adjusted to life at Hogwart's. She missed her family and often would go home on weekends via floo powder for visits. Her mother noticed her weight loss and commented on it. 

"Well I was tired of being so bloated feeling." 

"Maybe now you'll meet someone," she told her daughter, whistfully. 

Chloe shook her head. "Nope. Men are a pain. I don't care to go down that road again, you know that." 

Chloe had been married for 11 years. During her marriage, which had its definite ups and downs, she swore if that marriage didn't work out, she wasn't going to try it again. About 4 years into her marriage, she had gone from clingy, needing a man, to being quite happy with her own company. Her marriage ended when she discovered that her husband had not only been unfaithful to her, but had impregnated a co-worker. That had been 8 years ago and Chloe was quite happy to be by herself. No one to bug her if she had wanted to watch a 'girl movie' on muggle TV, or do some reading, or lay in a hot tub with fragrant bubbles--or steal away each night to skate under the silvery moon. 

Back at Hogwart's, the buzz was all about Halloween and the large banquet they put on each year. Chloe agreed she'd go, just to check it out, plus she was on a shift to be a chaperone. They all had to do that; they paired up faculty members in 2 hour shifts during the dance portion of the event. 

After the dinner, the tables were cleared away and she went to Dumbledore to report in for her shift, and she cursed under her breath when she saw who she was teamed up with--Severus Snape. He saw her look of disdain as she walked over to him. 

"Good evening, Miss Kelly." 

"Good evening. Are you on this shift?" she asked, thinking maybe that wasn't the case. She sighed and muttered, "Well it _was_ a good evening." 

"Excuse me?" 

She looked up at him and met his piercing gaze. "Oh nothing." She had never learned to keep her mouth shut. She looked away and out at the students. He was amused, and smiled as much as he ever smiled. He liked the fact that she always dared to say what she was thinking. Most of the others--particularly the other women on the staff--wouldn't stand up to him the way she did. 

The older students were dancing and some of the faculty members had guests they were dancing with also. That was the only time when Chloe felt like she wanted anyone around to be paired up with--but only for social occasions. Otherwise, she felt like a fifth wheel. 

"How are your classes going?" 

Chloe turned around. Was he engaging her in conversation? 

"Mine?" 

"I don't see anyone else within immediate earshot who might be teaching classes." 

"Um, oh, fine. I have a couple of smartasses in one of my classes, but I'm handling them." 

Malfoy and his cohorts. Had to be, he thought to himself. 

"How is your exercising coming?" 

"Very well. I don't need to take potions anymore, but thank you." Oh this polite conversation was escruciating. She checked her watch. Another hour and 45 minutes. Tick tock. 

"Do you have somewhere to go?" he asked, noticing she had checked her watch. 

"Later on." 

"That's a bit dangerous, don't you think Wandering around late at night?" 

"Naw. I always take my gun and my wand and I don't worry about it," she said, testing him. 

"Your...gun?" 

"Yep. It's a muggle weapon, I know, but it is pretty darn big and powerful. .44 magnum, weighs 36 ounces...and you know I'm not serious." 

He frowned at her. That figures; he has no sense of humor, she concluded. 

"So, what do you do, besides sit in your dungeon all day and into the night?" 

"I read." 

"Oh yeah, you have that extra book of mine. Get through it yet?" 

"Yes, I'm re-reading passages of it and marking them. Quite intriguing." 

"You don't go outside much, do you?" 

"Nooo...why?" 

"You ought to. You're kind of pale," she said and looked away again, bringing another unseen smile. She was too much. 

The rest of their shift was uneventful. At 11, it ended and they were relieved by Minerva and Dumbledore. 

"Good night," Chloe told Severus. 

"Good night." Chloe hurried out of the hallway, with Snape watching her. 

"Everything okay, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. 

"Yes, everything was fine. Nothing happened." 

"Where's Chloe running off to?" Minerva asked. 

"She said she had somewhere to go," he replied, wondering where. 

Chloe ran to her classroom where she had stashed her skating gear. It was much easier to keep it there in case she was seen carrying it up to her quarters, since her room was on the outer edge of the castle. She changed, grabbed her skates and a water bottle, and made her way to the lake. 

It was a cold, crisp night with a hint of winter coming in. She took a deep breath and froze and cut the ice, then put her skates on after stretching a bit. She took to the ice and began her warm up laps. 

Her spins had come back pretty quickly, and now she was working on her timing, setups, and her jumps. Her waltz jumps were sailing again, as was her salchow and loop. Her flip was a pain and her lutz was sometimes executed off the wrong edge at the last second, and then there was her axel. 

An axel is a jump which is taken off going forward, the skater turns 1 and a half turns in the air (for a single axel), and lands on the other foot, on a back outside edge. She had her axel intact for 6 months, years before, and then it disappeared. That had been the last time she was skating actively, regularly. She was working hard on getting it back. The thing that was strange was that her double salchow, which is what a skater learns after the axel, was coming back quickly. But that had been the case before. She had been doing double loops before also, without her axel. 

Of course, this had been in her early thirties, and what a difference 8 years makes. Older bones and joints doing things that 15 year olds do...not a simple task. But with every pound she lost, it became easier. 

She skated for about an hour, then unfroze the ice and headed back to her room and dropped off her gear and changed. She left the room, turned a corner and found herself face to face with Snape. 

"What are you doing here?" she squeaked, startled. 

"I might ask you the same question." 

"I was out." 

Severus took a look at her. Her hair was all tousled and she had a light sweat on her forehead and cheeks. 

"You look like you've had quite a workout," he commented, thinking she must have a secret lover. 

"I have. I did my run." 

"Dressed like that?" 

She was still wearing her robes from the banquet. "No, I changed. Left my things in my room...and why am I defending myself?" she asked, anger flashing in her eyes. 

"I wasn't asking you to defend yourself. I just wondered why you might be out and looking rather...disheveled," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice and in his expression. 

"Good evening, Professor Snape," she asked, not liking the implication at all. 

"Good evening. Shall I accompany you--it's not very safe for a young woman to wander the grounds at night, as I mentioned." 

"No. I'm fine. Good evening," she said, and turned on her heel and walked quickly away from him. 

Running. Hmmm. Where might a person run this late at night? he wondered. He hoped she knew better than to run into the forest. He hoped she would be careful. But, then again, he wasn't exactly sure that she hadn't been with a secret lover somewhere. Why was she so mysterious? 

Returning to his quarters, he reminded himself that was exactly why he had never taken a wife. Too many mysteries... 


	3. Chapter 3 rewrite

**Chapter 3**

_Author's Note:_   
As I said in Chapter 2, where the rewrite begins, I didn't like the way this was going so, I have redone it and am redoing it. Not enough time, mystery, intrigue, etc. So, here goes the new version..... 

One morning a few days later, Chloe limped into the Great Hall for breakfast. Severus immediately noticed this but, given their recent exchange, didn't want to approach her. She sat down and Minerva asked what had happened. 

"I fell and banged up my knee," she explained. 

"You _fell?_ How?" 

"I uh..." she had done a simple 3 turn and somehow went down on her right knee...but she couldn't say that... "I was running and I guess there was a root sticking up and I fell." 

"Well you need to go to the hospital wing and have it checked out." 

Chloe did so and it was determined she had fractured her kneecap. Way worse than she had thought. They couldn't figure out how a fall on turf could have done that. "I guess I'm just a clutz," Chloe told them. Her classes were taken care of for that day, and she would have to stay in the hospital wing. 

With the help of some Skele-Grow, Chloe's knee was all healed by the next morning. She was released and hurried to breakfast, hoping she wouldn't miss a chance to look at the man who haunted her dreams. She was late as she was afraid she would be. Minerva was happy to see her and sat with her as she downed her cottage cheese. 

"So you're good as new?" Minerva asked. Chloe nodded. 

"What's wrong? You seem upset about something." 

"Oh it's nothing. I just have a lot to do today and I'm afraid of being late for my first class--" 

"Don't worry, your first class is covered." 

"Oh? By whom?" 

"Severus is taking it over; he took care of your classes yesterday and we figured you might miss your first class and he doesn't have a class until later today." 

"Well that was nice of him..." Chloe said, worried that he might find her skates and gear in her cabinet. Minerva noticed noticed a look of concern on the younger woman's face but didn't say anything. 

Chloe returned to her quarters to shower, change and pick up her class supplies, then went to her class room. Her first class had been out for about 15 minutes and her second wasn't due in for another half hour. She walked in and found Severus seated at her desk, writing with his quill. She cleared her throat and he looked up at her. 

"Good morning, Miss Kelly. Feeling a bit better?" he asked. 

"Yes--" she said, hoping his next question wouldn't be "what are those things in your cabinet?" "How did it go -- the class I mean?" she stammered. Severus wondered why she seemed so nervous all of a sudden. 

"It went well. Here's your attendance sheet," he said, standing up, offering her chair to her. She sat down and he leaned over to talk to her about the attendance sheet, she suddenly became aware of how close he was to her and could feel the heat from his body. He had a nice spicy, pleasant scent, and oh why was she thinking about things like this--particularly about _him?_. Maybe the skele-grow didn't agree with her and was making her feel irrationallly. Then she suddenly became aware of what he was saying. "So I turned 10 of them into toads and set three desks on fire." She blinked and looked at him. 

"Did you hear a word I said?" he asked her, his voice dripping with annoyance. 

"Um...you turned someone into toads and set fires?" she asked. 

"That was to get your attention. _Before_ that." 

Chloe shrugged, and flushed crimson. 

"I thought not." 

"I'm sorry, I guess maybe the stuff they gave me for my knee has made me a little hazy..." she said. It had to be. He rose to his full height. He didn't know what was wrong with her--he could see tiny beads of sweat on her forehead. 

"Are you ill, Miss Kelly?" 

"I hope not," she said, uneasily. "I've never had to take that stuff to grow bones...I swear maybe I'm allergic to it. Anyway, thank you for teaching my class this morning--and yesterday. I'll be happy to return the favor should the need arise. I'm not that great with potions, but, maybe if you gave me a few pointers, I could manage. Oh, look at the time. Good day," she finally said. 

"Good day, Miss Kelly." He turned, and quickly walked out of the room. 

Chloe was still sweating and felt almost dizzy. She wondered if she ought to go back to the hospital wing. She pulled her water bottle out of the cabinet, and was happy to see that her skating things were still just the way she had left them. She drank the contents of her water bottle and felt a bit better as her students began filtering in. 

She got through her day and then went to her quarters before dinner. Looking in the mirror, she thought about her appearance. She never wore makeup, but she did have some for special occasions. She opened up her drawer and began applying it. Just a little bit to enhance her features. She looked in the mirror, satisfied, then changed into a pair of black jeans she thought she'd never fit into again and a jade green silk tunic which matched her eyes. 

She hurried into the Great Hall and made her entrance. She immediately spotted Snape, who was talking to Dumbledore. She kept her eyes glued on him and didn't notice the wet spot on the floor and down she went. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her. Several of the older students rushed over to help her up. 

"Thank you, it's okay. That's two falls in two days!" she said, laughing. But she wanted to disapparate right then and there--but it was against the rules. She didn't dare look at Severus who was trying to catch her eye. He hoped she hadn't reinjured her knee! He couldn't help but notice how striking she looked. Chloe sat down next to Minerva and sighed. 

"I can't believe I fell. Right in front of everyone." she said. 

"You didn't hurt yourself again, did you?" 

"Only my pride. How embarassing!" 

Minerva noticed Chloe's attire and that she was wearing makeup and wondered about that. Perhaps it was because she was feeling better about herself since she had lost weight. A goblet of wine appeared in front of Chloe and she took a sip. 

"Miss Kelly, I hope you didn't injur yourself." Chloe coughed, choking on her wine. Minerva patted her back, and Chloe turned and looked up at Severus, who was looking down at her, his black eyes gazing into her own green ones. She began feeling dizzy as she had that morning. 

"No, I'm okay. Just a klutz." she stammered, "an embarassed klutz!" 

"Just as long as you are unhurt..." 

"Yes. But thank you for being concerned. I don't want to have to take that stuff again!" 

She looked at him and felt rattled for some reason, and it had grown very hot in the room. He gave her the tiniest hint of a smile and returned to his seat. 

Minerva looked at Chloe, wondering if she was ill. 

"Are you allright?" she asked. 

"I don't know. I think that Skele-grow has a bad effect on me. It happened this morning when I was first released too, and just now. I feel real warm, and swimmy." 

"Swimmy?" 

"Kind of dizzy. Hope I can sk--- run tonight," she said, catching herself. 

"Well you take it easy and take care of yourself. You know, it is the flu season, and you should see Severus for the potion for that. We hardly ever have anyone come down with the flu because of it." 

"I didn't know that." 

"Well, go see him as soon as you can. He's made up enough for the entire student body and staff. I guess we forgot to tell you about that." Chloe made arrangements and went to his dungeon after dinner. She hesitated at the door then knocked. 

"Come in..." 

She pushed the door open and found him sitting at his desk writing furiously with his quill. He looked up at her. 

"Miss Kelly. I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling well," he said rising. He opened up a cabinet and took out a large bottle with turquoise liquid in it. It resembled window cleaner. He poured a small portion in something that resembled a shot glass, and handed it to her. 

She looked into the glass, and sniffed. 

"Drink it down, it'll take care of it and keep it away." 

She drank down the foul tasting stuff and made a face. 

"How do you feel?" he asked. 

"Warm, dizzy, having weird thoughts." 

"Weird thoughts?" 

"Yes. Weird thoughts. I really think it's the Skele-grow...flu doesn't make weird thoughts!" 

"Perhaps it's something else." 

"I don't know. Well, thank you." 

"No thanks necessary; it's my job. Is it working yet?" 

It really wasn't; she was still very warm and felt a little dizzy, but didn't want to insult him. 

"Yes, I feel better now...thanks, good evening." 

She turned quickly and left before he could say good evening, leaving the glass on one of the desks. He had never heard of Skele-grow affecting anyone with what she described as weird thoughts. Of course, she was definitely unique, he thought, dismissing the situation. 

Chloe was able to return to the ice that night and skated as if nothing had happened to her knee. The warm, dizzy feeling was gone also, so maybe it _had_ been the flu. 

Severus was in his dungeon and glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight, and he knew that that crazy American liked to run at this hour, or claim she had. He didn't like the thought of something happening to one of them--crazy or not, so he made his way out, to see if he might see her and look out for her. She seemed oblivious to the possible outcome of her late night routine. 

He made his way out and heard a door close. She was coming out of her classroom, and he saw her walking away, towards her quarters. Rather than another confrontation, he just watched her, to make sure she made it safely to the castle again. 

He would have to make a point of being out a little earlier next time. 


End file.
